In this tutorial, you will learn how to make your own adjustable strap for your purse or for your next bag making project. I used this technique on my Kelley Crossbody bag and it looks amazing! It is easy and fun to make but still has that professional look at the end.
To start with, I will be using a 4-inch wide piece of fabric for my 1 inch wide D-rings. The length of the fabric can depend on where you’re going to use the adjustable strap and, of course, how tall you are.
If you don’t have a continuous fabric, then you can add fabric strips together. However, you cannot just butt the ends to connect them. Instead, this is how you do it, lay one fabric vertically with pretty sides facing up. At the bottom end, lay the other fabric on top of it, perpendicularly, with pretty sides facing down. Now you have matched up the raw edges on the right side and on the bottom. The fabric should look like a backward “L”.
At the point of the overlap, stitch from the top right corner to the bottom left corner. After that, cut to the right side of the seam allowance about a quarter of an inch away. Apply woven interfacing to the fabric strip. Fold about a quarter of an inch on both short ends of the strap to conceal the raw edges. Fold lengthwise to create a center crease. Then, fold the long two edges inside to the center crease and apply basting glue to hold it in place. Again, fold the fabric into itself and apply glue. As a result, I started with a 4-inch wide strip, down to a 1-inch wide strip. Then, topstitch on both long sides.
Now, insert one end of the strap on the top hole of the slider but going in from the back. Then, to the bottom hole going in from the front. Stitch the end on the strap to itself, depending on how long you like it to be. At this time, the slider is stitched down on one end of the strap.
Now, hold both ends of the strap. Position the slider in such a way that the front side is facing you and make sure that there are no twists in the strap. Insert the other end of the strap into the D-ring going in from the back and into the bottom hole of the slider, also through the back. Then, insert it to the top hole of the slider. Pull the end creating one continuous strap. Insert it on the other D-ring and stitch it. Again, make sure that when you do this there are no twists in the strap.